Dirigible headlight



May 1, 1928. 1,668,047

. A. CAMINETTI, JR

DIRIGIBLE HEADLIGHT Filed Dec. 6. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 V I x Jim anion allorrzeya.

Patented May 1, 1928.

ANTHONY CAMINE'ITI, JR, FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DIBIGIBLE HEADLIGHT;

. Application ma December a, 1926. semi ms. 152,703.

My invention relates to dirigible headlights or searchlights ofthe type adapted for remote control, and constitutes an improvement on the dirigible headlight for which I have on file, under date of June 3rd, 1926,

Serial Number 113,393, a pending application for United States Letters Patent.

, Reference isalso made to my co-pending application Serial No. 60,857, filed October The objects of the present invention are, in general, to provide a single operating member by which the lamp housing may be moved or adjusted both horizontally and vertically, and which may be positioned at a distance from the lamp. For example, my headlight, which is readily adaptable for use upon automobiles, is best mounted in front of the radiator, but is operated by a single handle within easy reach of the driver.

More particularly, however, the object of the present invent-ion is to provide a simple form of mechanism for transmitting motion from the operating rod or handle to the lamp housing. This improved mechanism is easier to assemble and is cheaper tomanufacture, and is less. delicate and more reliable in operation than devices heretofore.

It should be understood that my headlight is adaptable to other. uses and to other forms and arrangements of mounting than those described herein, and that the form, construction and arrangement of its several parts may be varied, within the limits of the claims hereto appended, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of my invent-ion will now be described fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is a partly broken side elevation of my improved headlight and its supporting bracket.

Fig. 2 is a vertical central section, enlarged, of the operating mechanism, and is taken on the line 2-2 of F ig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. p I

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective detail of a portion of the operating mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a'diagram illustratinga modified f form of locking mechanism for preventing vertical oscillation of the lamp.

i In the drawings, and referring for the moment to Fig. 1 thereof, the reference nu a horizontal axis in a yoke or frame 3, said yoke beingmounted for horizontal swinging movement or oscillation about a vertical axis upon a fixed bracket 4. The latter maybe conveniently attached to the filler spout of the radiator of an automobile by any suitable clamping means, not shown. A diagonal brace 5, suitably secured to the front wall 6 of the radiator shell, may be employed to increase the rigidity of the bracket 4. The arrangement of the bracket 4, yoke.3, and lamp housing 1 is preferably as shown, the lamp housing hanging down from the bracket infront of the'upper portion of the radiator. I p

In order to render the lamp operable from the drivers seat, I provide an operatingrod or shaft 7, which is understood to be extended, in any suitable manner, as by means of universal joints, one ofwhich is shown at 8, to a position easily accessible to the driver, as for example upon the instrument board." This shaft is both rotatable and longitudinally movable. By means of the mechanism presently to be described, the lamp housing 1 is turned or oscillated, both horizontally and vertically, by the rotative movement of said rod, and'either of said movements of the lamp housing isselected by the longitudinal movement of said rod.

The fixed bracket 1 terminates at its forward end in a flat annularly flanged portion 9, Figs. 1'and2, below which is a cylindrical casing 10, which, in effect, forms a part of said bracket. The shaft 7 is provided with a hearing at 11, Fig. 2,in the rear wall of said casing. The bottom of said casing fits formed upon against an annular flange 3' the yoke 3, and provides a bearing therefor. A hub 12, Figs. 2 and 3, is secured to the yoke 3 and rises therefrom centrally through the casing 10, passes rotatably through an aperture in'the bracket portion 9, and is provided upon its upper end with threads 13 upon which a nut or collar 14: is screwed. A suitable end thrust bearing 15, best formed by a pair of flatwashers, as shown in Fig. 1,

is provided between said collar and the bracket ortion 9, said'bearingsupportirig the weig t of the yoke 3 and lamp 1. cap 16, Figs. 1 and 2 held inplace by a screw 17, encloses said bearing.

upon it The shaft 7 carries a bevel pinion 18, Figs. 2 and 4, through which it may slide longitudinally, and said pinion meshes with a horizontally disposed bevel gear 19 rotatably mounted about an enlarged lower-portion 12 of the hub 12 within the casing 10, and resting upon a flange 10 therein. This gear has formed upon its lower surface a ring of bevel teeth 20, Figs. 2 and 3, adapted to mesh with a bevel pinion 21 secured upon a horizontal shaft 22, which also has fixed a spur pinion 23 adapted to mesh with an arcuate toothed rack 24 secured upon the top of the lamp housing 1. The horizontal shaft 22 is mounted in the hub portion 12 of the yoke, so that, if the lamp housing 1 be held from oscillating vertically within the yoke, said yoke will be turned about its vertical axis 2, 2, Fig. 3, the pinion 21 being for the moment locked with the beveled gear 19, but if the lamp housing be released and if the said yoke be held from turning as by the friction 15, then the said rotative movement of the shaft 7 acting through the bevel gears 18, 19, 20 will rotate the pinion 21 and actuate the rack 24, causing the lamp housing to swing on its horizontal axis in the yoke 3. For convenience in assembling, I prefer to mount the shaft 22 in a ring 25 which is made a pressfit in the hub portion 12. and is forced thereinto through its open lower end. A slot 26 is provided in the wall of said hub portion to receive said shaft22, as shown in Fig. 3. The use of crown gears and spur pinions, in place of the bevel gears and bevel pinions above described, is, of course, optional.

To insure movement about the vertical axis only, I provide a slidable bolt 27, Figs. 2 and 3, within the hub 12, whose lower end is adapted to engage the spur pinion 23.

The bolt 27 is elevated, by the longitudinal or sliding movement of the shaft 7 in a manner to be described later, to lift it out of engagement with the pinion 23 when desired, and when so elevated, a frictional I binding is produced by means of an adjustable stop 28 screwed into the upper end of the hub 12, which, acting in conjunction'with other parts of the structure, serves as a brake to prevent the yoke 3 from turning horizontally. Thus when the shaft 7 is 7 ,moved longitudinally inwardly, or toward the axis of the yoke, to the position shown,

the bolt 27 is lowered into engagement with.

the pinion 23 by means of a spring 29 interposed between its upper end and the stop 28, and holds the lamp housing from turning pivotally in a vertical plane so that rotation of said shaft causes only horizontal turnin of the yoke, and when said shaft is move outwardly, or toward the left, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 4, the bolt is raisedrout of engagement with the pinion 23, and the yoke 3 is frictionally held from turning in the bracket 4, so that rotation of the shaft 7' 4 and 5, best formed as a yoke to surround the hub 12, and having a fiat lower face to rcst upon the shoulder 31 between the hub portions. 12 and 12,. A swivel joint is provided at 32 between the cam member 30 and the shaft 7. It should be noted in this conmotion that the shaft 7 is preferably hexagonal, as shown at 7, to slide within the hub 18 of the bevel pinion18. The upper surface of the cam member 30 is formed with inclined faces 32, upon which ride lugs 33 extending from a follower member 34 The follower memberris formed as a ring surrounding the hub 12, and is provided with a tongue 35 adapted to lie within a slot 36 in the cam member to keep said follower from turning. A pin 37 secured to and extending transversely through the bolt 27 and through vertical slots 38 in the hub 12, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, rests upon the follower member 34.

It will be seen that outward longitudinal movement of the shaft 7, by sliding the cam member 30 toward the left as viewed in Figs. 2 and 4, lifts the follower 34 and the bolt 27 so that said bolt disengages the pinion 23. This movement forces said bolt upwardly against the spring 29 and the stop 28, Figs. 2 and 3, and at the same time forces the cam member 30 downwardly against the shoulder 31 of the yoke hub, and by so doing causes frictional binding between the rotatable hub and the non-rotatable cam member. This frictional binding,which can be regulated by adjusting the stop screw 29 up or down, is sufiicicnt to hold the yoke 3 from turning, so that rotation of the shaft 7 and the gear 19 causes only vertical movement of the lamp housing.

When the shaft 7 is moved inwardly to the position shown in the drawings, the cam member 30 allows the bolt 27 to-be lowered byits spring 29 into engagement with the pinion 23, thereby locking t e lamp housing '1 against pivotal movement about its horitively. Longitudinal movement of said shaft in one direction (inwardly) causes the lamp Ill naeao47 housing 1 to be locked by the bolt 27 against vertical movement, and in the other direction (outwardly) causes the yoke 3 to be held against turning or oscillatory, movement, and at the same time the bolt 27 is released.

The Vertical swinging movement of the lamp housing 1 in the yoke 3 islimited by raised stops 39,-Figs. 1 and 2, formed at the ends of the rack 24, and which abut against the lower projecting end 40 of the hub portion 12'.

In Fig. 6 I have indicated a modified form of lock for preventing vertical swing-c ing of the lamp housing in the yoke. In this form, the spur pinion 23 is formed with conical sides 41, and the lower end of the bolt 27 is formed with a V-shaped notch 42 adapted frictionally to engage said conical sides. The other parts of the apparatus and its operation are exactly as described above, the only diflerence being that the bolt 27, instead of engaging the teeth of the pinion 23, engages its sides frictionally.

I claim '1. In a'dirigible headlight, a fixed supporting bracket; an oscillatable frame mounted thereupon; a lamp housing mount-- ed in said frame for oscillating movement in a plane angularly related to the plane of movement of said frame; a toothed rack upon said lamp housing; a pinion mounted in said frame for engagement with said rack; a gear mounted in said bracket coaxial with said'frame and adapted to rotate said pinion; and an operating member mounted in said bracket for rotating said gear.

2. In adirigible headlight, a fixed sup porting bracket; an oscillatable frame; a hub secured to said frame and oscillatably mounted in said bracket; a lamp housing mounted in said frame for oscillation in a plane angularly related to the plane of upon said lamp housing; a pinion mounted in said hub for engagement with said rack; a gear surrounding said hub in coaxial relation for rotating said pinion; and an operating member mounted in said bracket for rotating said gear.

3. In a dirigible headlight a supporting bracket, a yoke adapted to oscillate on a vertical axis mounted under said bracket, a lamp housing movably mounted on a horizontal axis in said yoke, a rack on said housing, a longitudinally movable and rotatable operating member in said bracket, gear means engaging said rack and operable b said member when in one longitudinal 051- tion, means actuated by said member ad apted to lock said rack when said member is in another longitudinal position, mechanism operable by said member when in said last named yoke. p

4. In a dirigible headlight a supporting bracket, a yoke adapted to oscillate on a vertical'axis mounted under said bracket, a-

lamp housing movably mounted on a horizontal axis in said yoke, a rack on said housing, a longitudinally movable and rotatable operating member in said bracket, gear means engaging said'rack and operable by said member when in one longitudinal position, means actuated by said member adapted to lock said rack when said member is in another longitudinal position, mechanism operable by said member when in said last named osition adapted to oscillate said yoke, and riction means opposing the oscillation of said yoke when said gear means is operated. v

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ANTHONY CAMINETTI, J a. 

